From Cato Unbound, Michael Shermer on liberty and science. Will asking a question get your science paper cited more? Lots of stuff other than content can influence why scientific papers are cited by academics. Harry Collins on his book Gravity’s Ghost: Scientific Discovery in the Twenty-first Century. Free will and quantum clones: George Musser on how your choices today affect the universe at its origin. A review of Intellectual Curiosity and the Scientific Revolution: A Global Perspective by Toby E. Huff (and more). From Spectrum, when the problem is the problem: Finding the right problem is half the solution. A review of Never Pure: Historical Studies of Science as if It Was Produced by People with Bodies, Situated in Time, Space, Culture, and Society, and Struggling for Credibility and Authority by Steven Shapin (and more). Janet D. Stemwedel on evaluating scientific claims (or, do we have to take the scientist’s word for it?). John Horgan on why the “Slow Science” movement must be crushed. A look at terms that have different meanings for scientists and the public. A new discipline emerges: You've heard of the history of science, the philosophy of science, maybe even the sociology of science — but how about the psychology of science? From TED, Ben Goldacre on battling bad science. Skeptical of science: Among other new roles, journalists are becoming more critical of research. The perfect kilogram is getting lighter — can science find a better measure? A review of Knocking on Heaven's Door: How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World by Lisa Randall. A look at 8 simple questions you won't believe science can't answer.

Milan Vaishnav (Columbia): The Market for Criminality: Money, Muscle and Elections in India. Some relief at last for unwed tribal mothers: Sexual exploitation of tribal women continues to haunt Kerala long after literacy should have ended their misery. Eleven situations when rape is okay: Yamini Deenadayalan on bizarre justifications over the years. Falling Man: Manmohan Singh at the centre of the storm. From Outlook India, Pranay Sharma on our selective archive: Understanding why some events are kept alive in our collective consciousness and others interred; and when amnesia is a handy tool: David Ludden on why specific political projects need specific memories to generate national sentiment. Parul Sehgal reviewsThe Beautiful and the Damned: A Portrait of the New India by Siddhartha Deb (and more). It’s available, it’s not addictive, it’s dirt cheap — morphine is used globally to treat pain, so why do Indian doctors refuse to prescribe it, even in terminal cases, asks Rohini Mohan. Joseph Lelyveld’s new biography of Mahatma Gandhi caused a storm in India even before it was published there; Thomas Weber looks at the book and its critics. A massive biometric project gives millions of Indians an ID. The typewriter lives on in India: India's typewriter culture survives the age of computers in offices where bureaucracy demands typed forms and in rural areas where many homes don't have electricity. From The Caravan, a journey to unravel the truth of one woman’s courageous crossing reveals a social and family history of indentured labour migration from India to the Caribbean; and the firm that once colonised India is now owned by an Indian businessman — can Sanjiv Mehta turn history on its head—and make a tidy profit in the process?